Rent-to-own plan a good one

The Housing Authority of Monroe County deserves credit for turning a private housing failure into a valuable opportunity for low-income residents to buy a home.

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poconorecord.com

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Posted Nov. 20, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Posted Nov. 20, 2012 at 12:01 AM

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The Housing Authority of Monroe County deserves credit for turning a private housing failure into a valuable opportunity for low-income residents to buy a home.

A Bensalem-based developer began years ago to build 33 two- and three-bedroom townhouses near Business Route 209 in Smithfield Township. But the economy took a toll, and in 2008, after partially completing 12 buildings, Town Homes at Ivy Ridge LLC signed over its mortgage to ESSA Bank & Trust in lieu of foreclosure.

ESSA worked with the Housing Authority's private nonprofit affiliate, Hamilton Manor, to finish building the development. Hamilton Manor spent $10.7 million to complete 33 three-bedroom and two two-bedroom units and single-family homes. The units have geothermal heating and air conditioning, energy-saving appliances and garages. The bank and the authority also are working on a long-term program that would make the complex rent-to-own.

The two-bedroom units and two of the three-bedroom units are handicap-accessible and will be open to households with incomes at or below 20 percent of Monroe County's median income — as little as $13,780 for a family of four. The remaining three-bedroom units will rent for $750 to $850 a month to housholds at or below 50 percent of median income: $34,450 for a family of four or blow 60 percent, $41,340. One of the four single-family homes Ivy Ridge has built has been sold to an income-qualified household. The plan calls for 12 single-family homes altogether.

It remains to be seen how many of the units eventually will convert from rentals to owned property. To work, such a venture will require careful screening, and in any event, the process would take many years to complete. But it would be a highly desirable outcome: Home owners who manage to realize the "American dream" of home ownership have a solid stake in the community and a vested interest in caring for their own property.

Right now, though, even as a rental development, Ivy Ridge offers Monroe County's low-income residents a welcome addition to the sparse array of decent, affordable housing.